I've used Taylor of Old Bond Street products for many years now. Started out with their avocado shaving cream which I just fell in love with. More lately I've been using their sandalwood shaving soap (which smells wonderfully).
When using this along with a Merkur DE razor with Feather blades and a nice Rooney brush, shaving hardly feels like a chore anymore.
Been using the King of Shaves clear gels for most of this century and have to say they're wonderful. Been using the Proraso aftershave too which is brill. Everything I hear about Proraso is good, but i don't fancy going back to soaps or foams so was wondering if anyone here had experience with "Proraso - Cutting Edge Shaving Gel with Aloe Vera"?
http://www.carterandbond.com/detail....ands%3AProraso
Great fan of original Mach3 works well with the KoS Gels and doesn't clog them at all.
I use the stuff my girlfriend uses to shave her legs with. still cut myself. :roll:
I use grade 5 sandpaper and rub in some meths to heal the wouds....
try shavingoil
Thank you. Only three to go eh?Originally Posted by purvistom 2
I am also using the Truefitt & Hill 1805, and I love it!
I couldn't resist buying the cologne aswell. :mrgreen:
I've found Clinique M Shave Aloe Gel to be the most comfortable/ lubricating and it also gives a very close shave with only a couple of passes with the blade.
Very little lather, and I normally like a fairly thick lather, but it doesn't seem to matter with this stuff as it still feels very cushioned.
I use Taylor of Old Bond Street avocado shaving cream with a brush and an old Gillette adjustable (fat boy) razor. Ive got a load of creams and they all work well, i have tried oils but they seem to clog up the razor and thats not good.
The thing to remember is that the lather is only half the story, its the amount of water in your lather that will make all the difference to the shave, I found i was making my lather nice and rich but far too dry.
Try this tip, apply cream and whip to a lather on the face as normal and then drench the brush with warm water and work it into the beard until it looks almost too sloppy wait one minute and give it another go with a warm wet brush and then shave.
Got this advice from a shaving forum and it works for me, might not for you but probably worth a try anyway.
T&H 1805 is my current favorite. Want to give Santa Maria Novella and Gessato both a shot. I have been told many times that Santa Maria Novella is simply unbeatable. Always use Feather blades in my Merkur Vision. These items might cost a bit, but it's your face. I've been shaving since before I was 14. That's 16 years now. And I've got a long way to go. I want to enjoy, not dread my shave. If it requires a little more money, time, and ritual, so be it. I only get one face.
My current combo:
R
Ignorance breeds Fear. Fear breeds Hatred. Hatred breeds Ignorance. Break the chain.
Boots NO.7 is good.
Usually 3 for 2 offers.. Try the face scrub. Great price compared to others...
+1 on Proraso, also like Trumpers Violet and Sandalwood, Ingrams is cheap and cheerful.
Heard good things about Musgo Real, think I'll try that next.
I can also recommend Connaught, great selection and prices, they do a samples service.
[quote]I am also using the Truefitt & Hill 1805, and I love it![quote]
Me too! Bagged a big bag of their samples & this is my favourite by far. Cologne's good too.
Using a Czech & Speake razor handle with the Mach 3 blades. Think I've found my perfect combo! :mrgreen:
One day we should ALL hand over the forum to our Wives ,GF's and see what they make of us ! Imagine them all thinking their partners are butch and into watches and knives etc , turns out we are all "soft skin" types ! The laughs they would have and the stories they would tell !
Had to draw a No Man's Land line on our bathroom shelf so none of my products encroached onto her side! :shock: :shock:
+1 for proraso - excellent stuff and smells wonderful
I am a clinique aloe gel user (cheaper at airports!) but i use shaving oil when I go travel so I can go hand baggage only. I do find the shaving oil clogs up the razor badly.
They're the oldest barber shop in the UK and possibly the world. I use their Trafalgar bowl shaving cream. Best results are with a badger brush. Also try GEO Trumper as mentioned, Floris, Penhaligons and DR Harris. All of similar traditional quality.
Another good reason to so back to a safety razor. This problem only affects multi-blade cartridge razors/disposables.
By far my favourite is this one:
http://www.caswellmassey.com/Almond-Sha ... tmentId=76
But that could well be because i have none left and i will have to wait until i go back to New York in Jan to get some more :D
As many have said though, TK Maxx is a good source of some of the finest shaving creams at knockdown price. The quality of my shave though is very dependant on the effort i put into stropping my razor in the morning :shock:
Another GEO F. Trumper user here - Like BiggusLaddus I also use the Coconut variant of the soap due to girly sensitive skin.
Speaking of Mens Health, they are always banging on about this site - http://www.mankind.co.uk
Got my shaving gear from there. Have been away for a few days, which razor would the TZUK shaving club recommend :?: Currently use a Wilkinson Sword Quattro.
Men u for me for use with the penhaligons brush and razor (Mach 3)
you don't need very much and no nasty bowl with scum all over it.
Gillette shave gel if I can't be bothered with the brush, but I usually regret it!
Agree re Mankind website, it's great, they're friendly and quick
This epic thread is up to sixteen pages, but if you follow it all the way you'll get some terrific recommendations.
viewtopic.php?f=2&t=48594
I'd recommend either a Merkur HD or a vintage Gillette Superspeed, cheap and loads around.
I had a wonderful shave last night using Proraso soap, a synthetic badger brush (I know, I know) and a new Derby blade in a Merkur Futur, setting No 2.
I rarely nick myself these days and I wondered whether this was due to improved technique or does the skin become tougher?
I'm considering moving to the next stage and buying a shaving mug :lol: .
Eddie
Whole chunks of my life come under the heading "it seemed like a good idea at the time".
I think it's technique. The first time you pick up a safety razor, you unthinkingly handle it like you've always handled a cartridge razor, and carnage ensues. It took me about three months to get consistently close, comfortable and nick-free shaves from a DE.
Eddie,
Is your Futur matt or shiny, there was a shiny one on SC but was'nt sure if it would slide all over the place in use.
It's the matt one.Eddie,
Is your Futur matt or shiny, there was a shiny one on SC but was'nt sure if it would slide all over the place in use.
Eddie
Whole chunks of my life come under the heading "it seemed like a good idea at the time".
I would recommend both Palmolive shave sticks and Boots own shaving soap in a bowl. I've tried a few of the more expensive creams and soaps and go back to these for daily use, being soaps they last ages but do really require a badger brush.
Palm latheringis my preferred technique and I use the shave mug for storing things, can't get lather as good as directly on face or hand as bowls are too smooth to create thick lather.
Using a Merkur 34c myself for about 12 months and my shave and skin have really improved.
I got a pretty decent lather and shave out of a bar of Pears bath soap this morning. You know the amber coloured semi-transparent bars of soap you can buy in any Tescos/Sainsburys/Asda for about 75p.
Someone told me ages ago that it worked great, and there's no reason why it shouldn't, it's a simple high-glycerin soap. I just used a fairly stiff brush and whipped up a great lather on it in about 20 seconds. :D
I totally agree Vampire,
Pears transparent is great.
The Thyme essence helps with burn and is a mild though effective antideptic and all natural.
I also experienced good later qualities.
Br,
AP.
My god! I've been browsing this forum for quite a while to feed my watch interest and habit but I never expected to find a load of other shaving 'geeks' on here as well. We seem to get everywhere!
For the record I use:
Merkur HD
Derby Extra blades
With one of the following depending on mood:
Proraso Shave Cream
DR Harris Arlington Cream
Taylor Old Bond St - luxury cream
Truefitt & Hill - 1805 cream
L'Occitane - Cade soap
:o)
I shave with what is handy.
Best wishes,
Bob
Hi Triumph,
How long do you keep creams for, was going to do some bulk buys to save on postage but worried that they might go hard or separate after 12 months.
+ 1 on using Derby's at the moment but in a Gillette Superspeed rather than my HD.
has anyone tried electrolysis !!!!!
not everyday but once...
Soaps will last indefinitely as they are hard to begin with, the only problem I would foresee is loss of the scent. But I have never had a soap for long enough for that to happen. As for creams I have a rotation of around 3-5 at any time. Some I use more than others so I guess if one got little use for whatever reason it could stay in the rotation for a couple of years. i have never had a problem with the creams drying out and certainly have never seen them separate. I have heard of people who have seen no deterioration of creams in over 3 years. I have a tube of Proraso which stays in my travel kit and at the current rate of use (few days a month) it will probably still half full in 10 years. I will keep you posted if I have any problems with it! ;)
Just keep the lids tight and they will keep for a long time! I say buy a few different ones to save on your postage and rotate them, that way you never get 'used' to the scent and every day is a change.
I had my back waxed once. I screamed the house down. Asked for a branch to bite on. The bird doing it thought it was hilarious. Never again.
Have often wondered about Imac or is it called Veet now,
but on the face not the legs, any one willing to own up to trying it out :)
I know it is a bit 'common' 8) but I rather like King of Shaves - Sensitive. I've tried all sorts, but always end up going back to KoS....
Can recommend Kiehls close shave squadron cream.
iv been using some cheap,less than a quid,shaving oil from asda. its called nuage i think and its as good as any of the more expensive ones iv tried,i use that with some shaving gel and it usually does quite nicely.
Yesterday morning I had the best "self shave" I have yet achieved. I was using my travel set up as I was at someone else's house.
The process went as follows:
Straight after a soak in hot bath to open the pores.
Washed face with King of Shaves pre shave face wash (never tried this before)
Truefitt & Hill Super Badger Brush and Proraso Shave cream (Tube) to generate lather
1st pass with the grain (Merkur HD with Derby Extra blade)
Relather
2nd pass cross the grain
Relather
3rd pass cross the grain in other direction
Relather jawline
retouch jawline with blade buffing
Cold water rinse
Pat face dry with towel
Close pores with Witch hazel (Boots Witchhazel with tea tree is a fantastic astringent - and it is cheap as chips)
Moisturise with Nivea post shave moisturizer (free sample with I keep in my travel wash bag so can keep travel kit to a minimum)
It was a great shave. I'm not sure what a did differently - maybe I was paying more attention because I was in a strange bathroom. Maybe it was the KofShaves wash. Maybe it was the blade buffing (I don't usually do that very often) or maybe it was a combo of many things.
Throughout the day I found myself "faceturbating" because of my great shave. A great start to the day!
No, but I know someone who did. Blistered up. Nasty. Would not recommend.
Any suggestions for aftershave? I currently use an alcohol based cologne, which probably isn't the best idea but it certainly works. Stings a bit if I miss, but not an unpleasant feeling.
Currently using Taylor's Sandlewood Soap, a badger hair brush, Merkur HD and working my way through a blade sample pack. Had my 4th DE shave this morning, getting acceptable results now.
Use of an alum block, followed by a good balm (eg Proraso's, which like all their products, is excellent) is one alternative to an alcohol-based aftershave.
I use alum and aftershave (again, Proraso's), but I love the antiseptic sting of alcohol, and no shave feels complete without it, IMO.
The idea of the aftershave is to close the pores which have been open throughout the shaving process.
I often use DR Harris Arlington after shave because it matches my favorite cologne (DR Harris Arlington also). It is alcohol based but as I don't suffer from dry skin and also because i moisturise after the after shave application it is not a problem for me. Although saying that, on days when I don't use any cologne (most days) I use witch hazel as after shave and it really works much better than my expensive aftershaves.
I swear by Boots "witch hazel with tea tree" which is a fantastic astringent. It closes the pores and leaves the skin in great condition. It is only about £2-3 a bottle and so it is worth a try. If you don't like it then it's hardly cost you anything to try. The only thing that I'd say is that all witch hazel does smell a bit funny until you get used to it (i have grown to like the smell now) but it loses it's scent after 10 or 20 seconds.
WWII cut throat, passed down to me from my father and ice cold water.
(posted from B`ham A&E)
If any one is interested I have just posted a small review of my experience of having a professional straight razor shave in London yesterday,
viewtopic.php?f=2&t=96359&p=1001111#p1001111
Thanks for the review, glad you had a good experience. :)
Have you thought about taking up straight razor shaving yourself? I had a couple of barber shaves in 2006 and it whet my interest, so I decided to learn and within about 6 months I was getting better shaves than the barber could give me. :)
Posting Permissions
Reply With Quote
